Bowe Bergdahl Moved To Outpatient Care

The U.S. Army says Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been released from inpatient care at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.

A statement Sunday from the Army says the former prisoner of war in Afghanistan is now receiving outpatient care at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The Army says his "reintegration process" is proceeding with exposure to more people and a gradual increase of social interactions.

The Idaho native was captured in June 2009 and freed by the Taliban on May 31 in a deal struck by the Obama administration in which five senior Taliban officials were released from detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Army said last week it's investigating Bergdahl's disappearance and capture. It says investigators won't interview Bergdahl until those helping him recover say it's all right.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Previous StoryThe Pentagon says Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who's been recovering in Germany after five years as a Taliban captive, is back in the United States.

A Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby, says Bergdahl arrived early Friday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio on a flight from Ramstein Air Base. The Idaho native is expected to be reunited there with his family.

He was captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 and released by the Taliban on May 31 in a deal struck by the Obama administration in which five Taliban officials were released from detention.

Kirby says that Bergdahl will -- "continue the next phase of his reintegration process" at the Texas base.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Previous StoryA U.S. defense official says released captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is scheduled to arrive at a military medical center in Texas on Friday.

The official, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been publicly announced, declined to provide details. Officials had previously said the intention was for Bergdahl to be reunited with his family at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Bergdahl was released from Taliban captivity on May 31 and has been recuperating at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany since June 1. He was deployed in eastern Afghanistan when he disappeared in June 2009.

Previous StorySome members of Congress aren't satisfied with the administration's justifications for the prisoner swap that led to freedom for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

At a House committee hearing, Republican Buck McKeon of California said the agreement with the Taliban was "deeply troubling" and the result of "unprecedented negotiations with terrorists."

But Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the panel that the administration had only engaged in "indirect negotiations."

Hagel also conceded that the administration could have done a better job of keeping Congress informed. But he says mediators had indicated that time was slipping away to get Bergdahl out safely. And he says the swap of five Taliban figures who'd been held at Guantanamo may have been the "last, best" chance to secure the release of the only U.S. soldier held captive in Afghanistan.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Previous StoryDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel will face angry lawmakers Wednesday as he becomes the first Obama administration official to testify publicly about the controversial prisoner swap with the Taliban.

Hagel is scheduled to appear before the House Armed Services Committee, which is investigating the deal that secured the end of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's five-year captivity. In exchange, the U.S. transferred five high-level Taliban detainees to the Gulf emirate of Qatar.

Republicans and some Democrats have sharply criticized the Obama administration for not notifying Congress in advance. They've accused the president of breaking the law.

Other questions center on whether Bergdahl deserted and whether the U.S. gave up too much for his freedom. Members of Congress have cited intelligence suggesting the detainees could return to the battlefield in Afghanistan.

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